“It’s meant the world to us. We know that we have a community. We know that we have friends. And we know that we are loved. We appreciate it. Jett appreciates it. We love you, Ocala.”

– John Travolta, in a touching speech to the town of Ocala, Florida before the premiere of his new flick, Old Dogs. John and the rest of the Travolta clan have remained more or less private since the shocking death of their son, Jett, and have been finding refuge in the small Florida town that John considers to be an adopted hometown.

The Travolta family made their first official red carpet appearance since the death of their son and brother Jett.  The occasion?  The premiere of Old Dogs starring … the whole family!  Specifically, it’s an acting debut for John and Kelly’s daughter, Ella Bleu — it was her night.

Also there:  Robin Williams with his very grown up looking daughter Zelda, Billy “Yes, I’m Still Alive” Idol, a virtually unrecognizable Joey Lawrence, and Lori Loughlin who was sporting the pointiest chin I’ve ever seen.  Were chin implants this summer’s designer dog carrier?

The John Travolta extortion trial — an ambulance driver and his lawyer tried to extort $25M from the Travolta family in connection with their son Jett’s death — in the Bahamas lasted a month and went to jury deliberations yesterday.  Shortly afterwards, the judge called a mistrial alleging possible juror misconduct.  Apparently, a local politician made a televised speech in which he said the defendants had been acquitted.  This isn’t good.

So, new trial.  Everyone will have to go through the pain and anguish of testifying again in hopes of attaining justice.

John Travolta appeared in a Bahamian courtroom today and testified in the extortion trial of an EMT and a former senator who tried to extort $25M from the Travolta family following the death of Jett Travolta.

With wife Kelly Preston in the courtroom, Travolta recounted the details of what happened on the day Jett died.  A nanny alerted Kelly and John that Jett was ill.  They went downstairs to discover a caretaker doing chest compressions on their son.  Travolta immediately aided in the CPR, but to no avail.

Travolta also testified that Jett was autistic and suffered from seizures every five to 10 days.  After suffering a seizure, he’d typically sleep for 12 hours.

Finally, the truth comes out!  Though the reference to autism was indicated on Jett’s medical documents, this is the first time John Travolta has openly and verbally admitted this.  I didn’t think Scientologists even recognized autism.  I’ve tried to research this, but the most I can gather is that Scientologists believe mental illnesses and disorders are psychosomatic and can be dealt with through spiritual healing.

It’s too late now, but I can’t help but wonder if there was a medication that could have helped to control this kid’s seizure disorder.  Many of you know that I feel strongly about the topic of Autism Spectrum Disorders.  It feels really easy to blame the Travolta’s for not acknowledging their son’s condition, but what good does blame do now?  Their son is gone.  And that is so. Sad.

John Travolta is on his way to the Bahamas to testify in the extortion trial of paramedic Tarino Lightbourne and his lawyer, Pleasant Bridgewater, who is a former Bahamian senator. The two are accused of trying to blackmail Travolta out of 25 million dollars after his son Jett’s death.

Tarino administered emergency aid to Jett when an ambulance was called to the Travolta family’s Bahamian retreat on January 2nd after Jett reportedly had a seizure then fell and hit his head in the bathtub. Allegedly, Tarino and Bridgewater later threatened to release information about Jett’s death to the press unless Travolta payed up.

I’m not at all sympathetic with someone who would attempt to blackmail a grieving father right after his son’s death, but it does make me wonder about the circumstances surrounding Jett’s death if some lowlife thought it would be worth $25 million to Travolta to keep the details a secret. If you remember, the Travoltas had always maintained that Jett had an illness known as Kawasaki Syndrome that they claimed caused Jett’s seizures. Many in the press claimed the illness was actually autism– a disease that Scientology does not acknowledge and for which Jett would not have received the treatment he needed.

The trial is slated to begin on Monday. It’ll be interesting to see what comes out of it.

In other Scientology news, Will-I-am-not-a-scientologist-Smith had some interesting deductions show up on his 2008 tax return. He donated over $100,000 to Scientology groups last year. That’s a lot of scratch for someone who’s not a level 3 grand inquisitor of the luminous realm (or whatever the hell their crazy titles are). 411mania also offers up this little nugget:

Smith also recently replaced the headmaster of his Southern California private school, The New Village Leadership Academy, with a new headmaster who has completed Scientology courses in the past.

Wait. Will Smith owns a private school??? How did I miss that one?

Kelly Preston was set to speak about her son Jett’s sudden death at the California Governor’s Conference that’s being hosted by Maria Schriver titled “Grief & Resilience”, but she pulled out of the panel and issued the following statement, “It is with my sincere apologies that I must pull out from speaking at [the] conference. I am sorry, but I truly believed that I could do it, otherwise I never would have said that I could. But I am still deeply in the process of healing, and it’s just too soon.”

The death of a child is said to be one of the most horrible things a person can encounter in life and while it would have been amazing if Preston could speak to her loss, it’s understandable that she’s uncomfortable making public statements at this time. Additionally, a great deal of controversy has surrounded the death of her son, with speculation that the parent’s religion, Scientology, prevented them from treating their son’s rumored autism the way that it needed to be treated. John Travolta, Kelly’s husband and the boy’s father, has always stayed quiet about his son’s condition and it wasn’t until the official documents associated with his son’s death were circulated in which he referenced Jett’s autism that these claims were made valid.

The National Enquirer print edition has released the three-page medical report detailing the events that unfolded the day John Travolta’s son Jett passed away. 

You know, I normally find released documentation of this nature, especially when a child is involved, as beyond exploitative.  What I do appreciate, however, is John Travolta’s admission that Jett was, in fact, autistic.  Without getting all anti-Jenny McCarthy on y’all, this is a cause that is near and dear to my heart. 

Autism exists.  It isn’t something to be ashamed of, or to lie about.  There are so many therapies and programs available to autistic children that assist in making their world feel more manageable, so I really struggled with the Travolta’s years-long denial of their son’s condition.  They are high-profile celebrities that could do so much to educate and support this cause.  Quite frankly, denying the existence of autism — which is the Scientologist’s stance on the subject — just feels like my own kid isn’t being acknowledged.

Now that this has become public, I have no idea how this is going to sit with his pals, Kirstie Alley and Tom Cruise.

Ugh. This is just awful. Someone is extorting John Travolta for millions of dollars, threatening to release a photo taken of his son Jett as he was dying if the Travoltas don’t pay up.

The extortion plot was revealed as Travolta remained in seclusion at his sprawling home on the Jumbolair estate in central Florida.

Friends say he is still struggling to come to terms with the death of his son.

He has yet to be seen in public, and has rarely ventured from his home into the nearby town of Ocala where he is well known and despite his Hollywood status left alone

The extortion plot is believed to revolve around a photograph of Jett as he lay in the back of an ambulance. It is understood to have been taken on a mobile phone.

The alleged blackmailers are thought to have made contact with Travola and his Florida based lawyers Michael Ossi and Howard Butler.

Source close to the lawyers said Travolta was asked for money to keep the photograph from being sold.

I hope this photo doesn’t exist, and, if it’s released, I hope nobody runs it. Lord knows we certainly won’t. I don’t claim to have a whole lot of morals, but I draw the line at photos of dying teenagers.

Not knowing the Travolta family personally, I will still bet that this has been the worst week of their lives.  They are mourning the loss of their only son Jett and I am sure that their entire focus right now is on survival.

John Travolta was scheduled to present at the Golden Globes tomorrow night and is also nominated, along with Bolt co-star Miley Cyrus, for Best Original Song.  And though I never try to estimate any person’s level of grief, I am assuming he won’t be attending…right?  However, as of today, he is still on the schedule to appear.  I’m praying this is some oversight on the part of his, understandably distracted, management team.

UPDATE:  Ok, whew, he just cancelled.

Regarding the tragic loss of their son, Jett, the following statement was released on Kelly Preston’s website:

We would like to extend our deepest and most heartfelt thanks to everyone who has sent their love and condolences.

Jett was the most wonderful son that two parents could ever ask for and lit up the lives of everyone he encountered. We are heartbroken that our time with him was so brief. We will cherish the time we had with him for the rest of our lives. We have received many messages of condolence from around the world and we want to thank everyone for their prayers and support. It has meant so much to us. It is a beautiful reminder of the inherent goodness in the human spirit that gives us ahope for a brighter future.

With love,
John, Kelly and Ella

An autopsy is scheduled for Monday with a burial planned for mid-week.  Obviously, it is just the worst thing that could happen to any parent.  Really no words…

John Travolta’s 16-year-old son, Jett, has died while on vacation in the Bahamas.

Details are still sketchy, but it appears he died of a seizure after hitting his head on a bathtub.

What’s even stranger is that he was last seen heading into the bathroom yesterday, but his body wasn’t discovered until 10 am today.

Thoughts and prayers are with the Travolta family. This is so terrible!

Tom Hanks’ back-to-back Best Actor Oscars in 1993-94 for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump were just a time killer while he was waiting to be bestowed the greatest gift of all…a career courtesy of John Travolta.  Travolta’s rejection of the lead in the 1999 film The Green Mile was what really opened doors for Hanks.  Not Bosom Buddies, Splash, or Big.  Or two Academy Awards won over half a decade prior to the release of Green Mile.  It was all about John Travolta saying “Thanks, but no thanks.”  Tom Hanks must just wake up every day saying “I owe every success I have to Freddie Mercury John Travolta.”  

Now if America’s favorite Scientologist could just say “no” to hair in a can…

Here’s Revolta’s official arrogance:

“Green Mile I probably should have said yes to… But I gave…Tom Hanks a career!  What you turn down can be a gift to someone else.”